1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing technology for generating a still image larger than one subject image by stitching a plurality of subject images acquired from a moving image or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Technology for overlapping captured images and generating a panoramic image is known from the past (e.g., see Japanese Patent No. 2555041-B, and Unexamined Patent No. JP-A-2003-9144).
In these publications are disclosed methods and devices for extracting the overlap between image data from a plurality of captured images and generating panoramic images.
Recently, not only is there overlapping of a plurality of captured images by a digital still camera or the like, but there is also taking of a specified number of frame images from a moving image consecutively captured by a digital video camera or the like, and stitching these (e.g. see Unexamined Patent No. JP-A-2003-198902).
With this kind of panoramic image generating device, a moving image captured using a digital video camera is recorded once in a recording medium, and when this moving image is played back, the still image fetching timing information and the calculated horizontal direction and vertical direction movement volume are read. After that, the still images at positions according to the movement volume of the plurality of fetched still images are overlapped to generate a panoramic image.
However, with this kind of image generating technology, the work of generating a rectangular panoramic image by overlapping a plurality of frame images had to be done manually, so there was the problem that complex work was required. Even if it is possible to automate the work of extracting information of the overlapping (movement volume) of mutual images fetched at a specified timing and of stitching the images to each other (following, this is called stitching), when cutting a rectangular panoramic image from the overlapped plurality of images, it was necessary for the user to move the cursor to specify an area and to do the work of cutting and dropping the unnecessary images.
Also, when the images to be used for stitching are decided and image synthesis is performed, when a object that moved during image capture such as an automobile or the like is captured for the part for which the captured images used for generating the panoramic image are stitched (hereafter called the stitch part), a plurality of still images overlap at the stitch part, so there is a large displacement at part of the images, and there is the problem that part of the image after synthesis may be blurry or be doubled up.